Why this precious metal will rise in price – sharply and soon

Now, after the price of platinum has fallen again, an almost identical setup is presenting itself. And there’s an easy way to position your portfolio to benefit from a rebound in platinum.

The reason why, and mean reversion

Mean reversion is one of the most powerful mathematical forces in the universe. (The “mean” is just another word for the “average”.)

In mean reversion, extreme or random events may take you one way – but then they usually revert back to normal, or the average, over time.

Mean reversion refers to the universal tendency of almost anything – luck, the weather, markets – to, with time, return to average, or normal, levels. You’re on a hot streak at the blackjack table? Great… but you’d better cash out soon because it won’t last. Has it been an unusually chilly winter so far? Chances are good it will warm up soon. Are markets on a roll? Enjoy it while it lasts, because the rally will eventually end.

The idea of “availability bias” is central to mean reversion. This is the tendency to pay too much attention to new or easily remembered information when making decisions. We remember that the chicken rice at that hawker center around the corner was good last time – even if it was cold and chewy the previous three times. We’re hardwired to evaluate risk at the “gut” level, rather than use our brains and process it logically.

The platinum-to-gold ratio

Mean reversion helps explain why the price of platinum is likely to rise in the coming weeks.

The graph below shows the platinum-to-gold ratio. It shows the relationship between the price of platinum and the price of gold.

(Why do we look at this ratio, and why does it tend to move in a certain way? There’s no particularly good reason. But markets, like history, tend to move in cycles. So these sorts of patterns are worth paying attention to. And while the gold-to-silver ratio is more closely watched, the platinum-to-gold ratio is worth keeping an eye on as well.)

Over the past 30 years, the price of platinum (sometimes called “the rich man’s gold”) has historically traded well above the price of gold itself. On average, an ounce of platinum has cost 35 percent more than an ounce of gold.

In recent years, though, this ratio has flipped. During the past five years, gold has been on average more expensive than platinum – five percent more expensive. The average platinum-to-gold ratio has moved from 1.35 over the past 30 years, to 0.95 over the past five years.

Is this time different? It doesn’t matter

This leads to an important caveat to the theory of mean reversion. Sometimes, there’s a structural change that forever alters the dynamic between two variables. For example, climate change might lead to summers that are hotter and hotter – and to every year boasting of a “record-breaking” hot summer. In this case, the mean never reverts. Instead, the mean is forever changed.

However, these structural shifts don’t happen very often. And the biggest danger is uttering those four dreaded words: “This time is different.” Perhaps it is… but mean reversion suggests that almost always, it’s not different. You just have to wait for mean reversion to kick in.

Perhaps the platinum-to-gold ratio is structurally lower, and won’t move above 1 again anytime soon, or ever. Maybe recycled platinum will be used more and more, which means more supply – and hence a lower price over time.

But even if that’s the case, right now the ratio, at 0.76, is almost lower than it’s ever been… it’s very close to 50-year lows. In late June, it reached a low of 0.74, before rebounding to 0.88… and rising 21 percent over the following five weeks.

Notably, the ratio has been around 0.76 for the past few weeks. Over that period, the price of platinum has moved up modestly – as has the price of gold, so the ratio has remained steady. In the coming weeks the platinum-to-gold ratio could increase if the price of gold falls and the price of platinum stays flat, or if the price of platinum falls less than gold. While both of these would cause the platinum-to-gold ratio to rise, neither would lead to a higher platinum price.

I think it’s more likely that the price of platinum rises in the coming weeks. “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes” as American humourist Mark Twain may have said. And at around this level in the platinum-to-gold ratio in the past, platinum has risen.

How to invest in platinum

If you want to buy platinum, the easiest way is to use an ETF, which is a lot more efficient than going to your local jeweler. The Physical Platinum Shares ETF owns physical platinum bullion to track platinum prices. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker PPLT). A very similar ETF is listed in London (ticker PHPT). Currently, there are no vehicles to invest directly in platinum on the Hong Kong or Singapore exchanges, but we will keep you posted if and when it becomes available.

The ETF has low trading volumes, though. So specify your buy (or sell) price, rather than allowing your broker to buy at the market.

Good investing,

Kim

About Kim Iskyan

Kim Iskyan has nearly 25 years of experience as a stock analyst, hedge fund manager, political risk consultant, and financial commentator in more than half a dozen emerging and frontier markets.

SUBSCRIBE NOW

As a relatively new subscriber to your Asian Investment Daily, I want to thank you for the exceptionally well-written articles. Your articles are invariably easy to understand, logical, and informative”